Carts have a wide variety of applications in public places such as airports, shopping centers, parks, zoos, etc. For example, in airports, luggage carts have become popular for assisting air travelers with transporting luggage to and from planes and ground transportation.
A large public facility such as an airport may require hundreds or thousands of carts to satisfy the demands of air travelers. Many airports, especially in Europe, own and provide these carts as a service to their customers. However, the carts often become a nuisance in the airport as many customers do not return the carts to a central area after using them. Unreturned carts can be safety hazards and disrupt pedestrian and motor traffic. Further, the carts are often not maintained properly and can break down.
Automated cart management systems have become popular in the United States for managing and vending a large number of carts for use by the general public. These systems typically retain a number of carts within a track or rail, and allow for vending and return of carts without the need for a human attendant. An attendant is needed only to periodically check the system to collect currency and perform routine maintenance. Furthermore, cart management systems provide an additional source of revenue for an airport.
Most cart management systems use carts which are specifically designed for use in the systems. Many retain a wheel or a specialized "key" on a cart. Consequently, most cart management systems are sold as complete systems having specialized cart management units and carts.
Many public facilities, especially in Europe, already own carts but do not have cart management units for vending the carts. While these facilities would like to convert their own carts to automated systems, to date there have been few alternatives, short of purchasing a new cart management system with all new carts, for doing so. Therefore, there is a need for a cart management system which may be used to retrofit existing carts for incorporation therein in an automated system.
Cart management systems also provide an added benefit in that the number of unreturned carts left around a public facility is often reduced. Many cart management systems are designed to offer a "reward" for returning the cart to the system, which encourages customers to return their carts once they are done with them. Even if the customer who vended the cart does not return the cart, another person can collect the cart and return it for the reward. It has been found that the reward system significantly cuts down on the number of unreturned carts, thus reducing safety hazards and traffic congestion as a result of unreturned carts.
By providing the potential for rewards in a cart management system, however, hustlers may attempt to cheat the system and repetitively retrieve rewards by making the system think carts are being returned when in fact they are not. Many cart management units are susceptible to theft of large amounts of reward money as a result of clever hustlers. Therefore, a need has also arisen for a cart management system which is resistant to theft from hustled rewards.
Additionally, many cart management systems are controlled by an electronic control system executing proprietary software. When electronic control systems fail, however, it is often difficult and costly to replace these control systems. Moreover, important statistical data regarding the cart management system may be lost in the replacement. Similar problems exist should it be desired to upgrade the electronic control system or any other peripheral components controlled by the control system of the cart management system.
The difficulty and cost of replacing electronic control systems for cart management systems is often exasperated because different models of cart management systems may be available from any single provider. Additionally, systems may use different peripheral components manufactured by different vendors, such as bill readers, card readers, coin readers, coin dispensers, retaining mechanisms, etc., each of which may require specialized software and/or electronics to communicate and in general operate with the primary controller of a cart management system.
Therefore, a substantial need also exists for an electronic control system for a cart management system which is easier and less expensive to replace or upgrade, and which is capable of retaining important statistical information regarding the cart management system even when replaced or upgraded.